The simple mention of the word “sherry” usually conjures up images of grey-haired ladies sipping a cloyingly sweet wine out of thimble-sized glasses, probably while playing bridge in a cold English farmhouse. Or perhaps images of an old, dusty bottle in the back of the liquor cabinet used exclusively for cooking purposes also comes to mind?

Sherry casks or “butts”

Sherry is indeed one of the most misunderstood wines of the world, offering a dizzying array of styles from bone-dry to lusciously sweet. With a bit of education, there is no reason why sherry cannot find its place again as one of the world’s most sought after wines. After years of declining sales, this fortified Spanish wine is seeing a renaissance in the fine wine community and is now found in the best restaurants and wine bars of the world. The cocktail and mixology culture has also brought back this fortified Spanish wine into the limelight.

Sherry vineyards

I was honored to be able to visit Jerez de la Frontera in the Andalucía region to learn more about these fascinating wines and their time-honored production methods. I was the guest of Gonzalez-Byass, one of the largest producers in Jerez. I was able to see a very historic, if slightly corporate, large-scale production from this angle and also took time on my own to visit some smaller boutique producers to gain a better perspective.

Trying sherry from the traditional venencia, which is dipped into the cask, at Bodegas Rey Fernando de Castilla

My stash of wines is long gone but fortunately the memories are still as fresh as a glass of Manzanilla on a hot summer day. For the last two years, I’ve been lucky to participate in a live sherry tasting via Twitter that is organized by the generous Ruben of Sherry Notes, the preeminent blog discussing all things related to sherry.

In anticipation of International Sherry Week 2015 (November 2-8), I wanted to write a brief introduction to these wines. I’ll be taking part in the Palo Cortado tasting live on Twitter on Tuesday November 3rd from 19:00-20:00 CEST. Join us with the hashtag #SherryTT to “taste” along the way.

Sherry is produced from the Palomino grape variety grown in the “triangle” of land located between the cities of Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa Maria. These vineyards form what is Europe’s most southerly vine-growing area.

A painting of the Palomino grape in the private collection at Bodegas Tradicion

The juice from these grapes is fermented into a bone-dry white wine. The next step will be to fortify this young wine with a neutral grape spirit. Not only does this step help determines the wine’s future and how it will evolve during the ageing process, it historically allowed for the wines to travel as they could better support long journeys at sea.

The passionate Antonio Flores, winemaker at Gonzalez-Byass

After fortification, the sherry is then aged in a unique fashion: the solera system. When a newly made wine is added to the top row of barrels in the system, existing older wines are blended downward to create space for the young wine. In doing so, young wines are mixed with medium aged wines, medium aged wines with older wines, and older wines with even older wines and so on. When the wine is ready to be bottled, no more than 30{3a7d09526df5c7d799d9c3345e955029832d7bc6b7b2dd8e5aa7fd6ebaba0b85} of the bottom row (the oldest wine) of the system will be drawn off and sold.

Sherry casks or “butts”

The bodegas at Gonzalez Byass, home of Tio Pepe Fino

This method of fractional blending gives wines of incredible complexity and nuanced flavor, while ensuring consistency from batch to batch. When you buy a bottle of sherry, the wines inside the bottle may in fact be anywhere from 5 to 50 years old!

Here is a brief explanation of the major styles of sherry:

Fino (or manzanilla – a fino from the city of Sanlúcar) : the lightest and most pale style of sherry, aged in barrels under a layer of naturally occurring yeast, or flor in Spanish, which protects the wine. Finos are the traditional pairing for tapas such as Iberico ham, olives, almonds, and seafood of any kind. They are incredibly versatile wines and can be consumed with a wide array of lighter fare.

Pumpkin soup and some tuna, with a glass of Manzanilla

Oloroso : Fortified to a higher degree than a fino, this wine will never grow flor, allowing the wine to age in contact with oxygen. The result is burnished in color, rich and nutty with a dash of caramel. Olorosos pair beautifully with red meat and game dishes, meat stews, hard cheeses and charcuterie.

Croquetas, great with any sherry!

Amontillado : An intermediate style of sherry that starts life protected under flor as a fino but will be exposed to oxygen after the flor dies off. The finest examples combine the delicate nature of a fino with the power and body of an oloroso, tasting of roasted nuts and toffee with an underlying elegance of a fino. Amontillados go well with rich soups, poultry, mushroom based dishes and pâtés.

Palo Cortado: This is the most elusive, secretive and mysterious variety of sherry and the ones I cannot wait to try during the tasting next week. This sherry starts its life like a Fino but the flor dies off for some inexplicable reason, giving the wine more Amontillado characteristics. The end result is a wine with the finesh of the best musts destined for the top wines but with some oxidative ageing, adding to the complexity of these special wines. I enjoy Palo Cortado on its own for its finesse, but try it with cheese or foie gras!

A beautiful palette of colors

The above sherries are all dry with less than 5 gm/litre residual sugar, however within the Jerez region, sweet wines are also produced from the Pedro Ximinez grape which can be blended in to dry sherry to make cream sherry. PX or cream sherries can be served as a digestive or with dried or candied fruits, nuts or chocolate.

The region’s history and unique production methods combined with sherry’s flexibility in food pairing make it one of the most interesting wines to try. Sherry also represents an excellent value for money and an opportunity to try some very old wines without breaking the bank. I guarantee that once you try a good one, the complex and lingering flavors will continue to haunt you, drawing you back for more and making you a sherry convert for life.

What a fun trip! I always love reading about Sherry, and it’s fascinating to see your photos of the vines and bodegas. Thanks, also, for the info about International Sherry Week — I need to buy a bottle to celebrate!

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I was thrilled to be able to take part in another live sherry tasting during this year’s Sherry Week. What a rush to be connected via the Internet with other sherry and fine wine lovers from across the globe. I was selected to participate in the special palo cortado tasting on Tuesday, November 3 at […]

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